Chapter 4 : Chapter 4
Chapter 4. Arrows That Overawed the Crowd
After settling in the newly recruited blacksmith’s apprentice, Leon, Eli did not stop moving.
He crossed the inner courtyard of the castle, and before he even reached the training ground, deafening shouts and the clang of colliding weapons came rolling toward him like a tide.
The training ground was vast, its surface hard-packed and level.
At that moment, dozens of family knights in matching leather armor or light mail were locked in fierce sparring matches.
At the edge of the field, others were practicing charges or hacking at wooden posts.
Standing in the shadows at the edge of the training ground, Eli quietly took it all in.
He watched the knights’ agile movements and felt the stronger and weaker fluctuations of battle aura radiating from them.
Subconsciously, Eli clenched his fist.
A faint current of air, crisp and metallic in texture, swirled in his palm.
That was the power brought by House Black’s ancestral Raven Breathing Technique.
Unfortunately, the original owner of this body had been far too lazy. This body had only just reached the Lower Black Iron Tier.
And with Eli having only recently crossed over, he was as weak as a chick in front of this pack of wolfish, tigerish knights.
His gaze swept across the training ground, then caught on a neatly arranged row of longbows resting on the weapon rack near the edge.
Their curves were elegant, their strings taut, and they radiated a cold, irresistible allure.
Before his transmigration, Eli had been an ardent archery enthusiast.
Just then, a thunderous burst of cheers and cries of praise erupted from the center of the training ground!
“Good!!”
“The captain is mighty!”
“That was incredible!”
Eli turned toward the sound.
At the center of the field stood a tall, powerfully built knight in well-crafted half-plate armor.
He was slowly lowering the heavy two-handed knight’s sword in his hand.
Before him, a full-body humanoid training dummy made of thick hardwood and iron plating had been cut cleanly in half at the waist!
The fracture was astonishingly smooth, displaying the terrifying strength and precision of the swordsman.
“It’s him...” Eli recognized him.
That imposing captain of knights was one of the men who had sat in the front row during yesterday’s family council.
Eli remembered that he was High-Silver Tier.
Even in the kingdom’s army, that qualified him as an elite officer, Eli thought grimly.
If I could poach this one...
The thought had barely arisen before he crushed it.
Absolutely impossible. Lady Livia and Kaelus would be the first to object.
He steadied himself, put on an easy smile, and clapped as he stepped out of the shadows and walked straight toward Captain Roland at the center of the field.
“Magnificent! Truly a magnificent stroke, Captain Roland!”
Eli’s voice was not loud, but it cut clearly through the noise of the training ground.
In an instant, the entire field seemed to pause.
The news that Young Master Eli had been named a Frontier Knight and was soon to be exiled to the Western Wasteland had already spread through the castle like wildfire.
Captain Roland turned around. When he saw Eli, no extra expression appeared on his resolute face.
He merely clenched his right fist, placed it over the left side of his chest, and gave a standard knight’s salute.
“Young Master Eli.”
“No need for formality, Captain Roland.” Eli waved a hand and said in a clear voice, “I am sure all of you have already heard that, by the family’s favor, I will be going to the Western Wasteland as a Frontier Knight to establish an outpost.”
He paused, then raised his voice.
“To open up the wasteland is no task for one man alone. I need loyal and valiant companions!
That is why I have come today—to choose ten knights to accompany me! As for待遇...”
Eli deliberately dragged out the last part and saw quite a few knights’ ears perk up.
“...their pay will be doubled on top of the family’s existing rate! Death compensation will be doubled as well! And those with merit will be given priority for fiefs within the territory!”
“The pay is doubled?!”
“Double death compensation?!”
“Fiefs?!”
A wave of sharp inhalations and hushed discussion broke out through the crowd.
Quite a few knights’ eyes lit up at once, especially those lower-ranking men from ordinary families who had little hope of promotion.
The temptation of gold was something real and tangible.
And yet, after that brief commotion, the training ground fell into an even deeper silence.
No matter how much gold there was, one still had to live long enough to spend it.
To follow a notorious wastrel young master there? What difference was there between that and leaping straight into a magical beast’s jaws? No one was willing to gamble with his life.
Captain Roland stood quietly to one side, watching it all with calm eyes. He neither encouraged them nor stopped them.
This had been within his expectations from the beginning.
The smile on Eli’s face did not change, as though he had not been surprised in the least by the cold reception before him.
He said nothing further to stir morale, nor did he call anyone out by name or force anyone forward.
Instead, he simply ignored the silent knights and walked straight to the weapon rack.
Under the puzzled gazes of everyone present, he took down a longbow that appeared to be in fairly good condition, then picked up a quiver full of arrows.
He weighed the bow in his hand, ran his fingers over the string, and his brows drew together slightly.
“Young Master Eli, what is this...?” one nearby knight could not help asking, his tone tinged with confusion.
Eli did not answer. Carrying the bow and arrows, he walked toward the archery range at the far end of the training ground.
Several straw targets stood there for practice, about a hundred meters away.
When they saw what Eli was doing, the knights exchanged baffled looks.
This young master... was he actually planning to demonstrate his archery in front of a group of knights who had spent years fighting and training in the mud?
With his level of strength? What a joke.
Eli stopped at the firing line.
He took a deep breath and, somewhat stiffly, nocked an arrow and drew the string.
The standardness of his posture brought a flicker of surprise to Captain Roland’s eyes.
But the moment Eli drew the bow nearly to a full moon, his arm began to tremble visibly. His current strength simply could not provide enough support.
WHOOSH—
The arrow left the string with a faint tearing sound, wobbling crookedly through the air...
Then, several meters short of the target, it dropped limply and buried itself in the dirt.
Pfft...
“Hahaha!”
After a brief silence, a burst of suppressed laughter exploded across the training ground.
Looking at the arrow that had missed the target entirely, Eli smiled helplessly.
He lowered the bow and rubbed his slightly sore arm.
“Tch... this bow needs improvement...”
The looks on everyone’s faces said it all.
What was he talking about? Improvement? He understood bows?
Eli offered no explanation. He raised the bow once more.
This time, his gaze changed.
The casualness from before vanished, replaced by the sharpness of a hawk. Every stray thought was cast aside.
The surprise in Captain Roland’s eyes deepened.
WHOOSH!
The second arrow flew!
Fast. Steady. Accurate!
THUD!
With a muffled impact, the arrow buried itself firmly in the outer edge of the straw target!
It was still far from the bull’s-eye, but at least it had struck the target.
The laughter stopped abruptly, replaced by startled murmurs.
Eli did not pause for even an instant. Like a machine, he drew another arrow, nocked it, and pulled back the bowstring in one smooth motion!
His actions were several times more practiced than before, carrying a strange, almost mesmerizing rhythm!
WHOOSH! THUD!
The third arrow landed closer to the center!
WHOOSH! THUD!
The fourth arrow struck the red ring!
WHOOSH! THUD!
The fifth arrow drove straight into the bull’s-eye!
WHOOSH! THUD!
The sixth arrow hit the bull’s-eye again, the fletching still quivering!
The entire training ground fell silent as a grave!
Every knight stood with his mouth open, staring in disbelief at the young master who was now lowering his bow.
That concentrated expression, that precise rapid fire...
Was that really the same wastrel who did nothing but eat, drink, and amuse himself?
Eli turned around and tucked his slightly trembling right hand behind his back.
The easy smile was still on his face, as though those six astonishing shots had been nothing more than a casual display.
“All right. Back to the matter at hand.”
His gaze swept across the knights, whose faces no longer held even a trace of contempt.
“Spots are limited. Ten men. Entirely voluntary. When I call your name, those willing to come with me, step forward.”
He wasted no more words and began calling names directly.
“Aika!”
A lean young knight froze for a moment, then, under everyone’s gaze, gritted his teeth and stepped forward!
He longed for change. He longed for an opportunity.
“Orlando!”
The moment that name was called, a blond young man standing near the back snapped his head up, his eyes full of disbelief.
Eli looked at him, his gaze carrying a trace of understanding.
“I’ve heard a little about your mother’s condition. Come with me, and the pay will be enough to cover her medicine, with enough left over to hire a better physician.”
Orlando’s eyes reddened instantly.
Without the slightest hesitation, he strode forward and planted his foot heavily on the ground.
“I am willing to serve you, Lord Eli!” His voice caught with emotion.
Just as the atmosphere was beginning to shift because of Orlando’s choice, a booming voice suddenly rang out:
“And me! Bol is willing to follow Lord Eli!”
A bald giant of a man, built like an iron tower, pushed his way out through the crowd!
He stopped in front of Eli and drove his right fist heavily against the armor over his left chest, producing a dull clang.
“My lord! I have always held your late mother in the highest respect!
She was a kind and benevolent lady! For that reason alone, I trust her son.”
Bol’s words were like a boulder hurled into a placid lake.
He clearly seemed to carry some weight among the knights, and with his lead, several men who had been wavering, or who were close to him, seemed to find a backbone at last and stepped out one after another.
In the blink of an eye, together with Aika and Orlando, exactly ten knights stood before Eli with their heads held high!
Their strength varied greatly, but at that moment, all of them had a light burning in their eyes—a light called hope.
Eli looked at those ten faces, some young, some weathered, some stern with resolve.
In a ringing voice, he said, “Good! I, Eli Black, will remember today’s choice by each of you!
And I promise you this: you will never regret the decision you made today! The Western Wasteland will be the place where we make our names!”
Captain Roland stood to one side, watching the scene before him. A puzzled expression finally appeared on his resolute face.
Was this really that Eli?
At that very moment, Eli did something that left everyone staring in shock once again.
He untied the heavy pouch at his waist, walked straight to the ten knights, and shoved five gleaming gold coins into each man’s hand!
“Th-This... my lord! This is too much!”
Orlando’s hand was trembling as he held the coins. That was nearly two years of his old wages!
“My lord! We cannot accept this!” Even Bol was stunned.
“Take it.” Eli’s tone allowed no refusal.
“This is your settling allowance! We leave at dawn in two days. Understood?”
“Understood, my lord!”
The ten knights clenched the gold coins in their hands, feeling their heavy weight and the trust in Eli’s words, and roared in unison!
Their voices were loud, filled with morale and a sense of belonging!
Five gold coins!
The generosity and boldness of this new master had conquered them in an instant!
As he watched the knights leave in mounting excitement, Eli rubbed the space between his brows.
He had only just been about to catch his breath when a shout thick with tears came racing toward him from the distance.